


Reincarnation And Parallel Universes Are Pretty Much The Same Thing

by zinniapetals



Series: String Theory [1]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6663412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zinniapetals/pseuds/zinniapetals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He never really thought of himself as special or unique but this weird phenomenon happening to him could be because of the amanto or because of his destiny to fulfill his role as the main character.</p><p>or the AU where Gintoki knows of his future but is really determined to try and change it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reincarnation And Parallel Universes Are Pretty Much The Same Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so into my own AU, its ridiculous tbh. Anyways, the beginning of everything, and since it's a parallel universe, it's tangent with canon with a couple of twists and changes.

Gintoki woke with a jolt, his heart beating rapidly while he scanned his surroundings. He noticed his two friends awake and both staring at him, Takasugi with contempt and Zura with empathy, but both of them have the courtesy to turn away when Shouyou stormed into the room.

“Gintoki, I heard you screaming,” Shouyou said as he crouched down and began to run his hand through Gintoki’s hair softly. “Did you have that same dream?”

Gintoki doesn’t say anything, but he does take in his beloved teacher’s gentle gaze, it’s a sharp contrast to the hard and cold gaze from the Shouyou he dreamt about. 

“Sensei, why can’t he sleep in a different room? It’s annoying to sleep with someone who can’t stay in his own futon,” Takasugi grumbled, his eyes stuck on Shouyou’s gentle petting.

“Haah? If I remember correctly you were the one who burst out in tears yesterday!” Gintoki shouted, pushing his teacher’s hand away as he got up from his sitting position. Takasugi’s jaw dropped at Gintoki’s verbal attack and clenched his hands as he also stood up. “And then Zura couldn’t sleep three days ago because of his nightmare so he forced us all awake and we had to play Uno all night long!”

“Are you angry because I kept winning?” Katsura said loudly, his laugh even louder, harrumphing as he turned away from the silver haired kid. “Well Gintoki, no one told you that you had to keep playing after your fifth loss.”

“It’s because I couldn’t go to sleep when you and Takasugi kept being loud and annoying!”

“Don’t blame me,” Takasugi scowled, rolling his eyes at Gintoki and leaning against their bedroom wall, fists now opened wide as he used them for leverage. “You’re just a sore loser.”

“Say that again! I dare you-“

“Is this true? You guys haven’t been sleeping at night?” Shouyou interrupted, sitting down gracefully, a small frown settling on his face.

The three kids instantly shut up, Gintoki and Takasugi still glaring at each other while Zura was fiddling with a lose string from his sleeve.

“Is this about me dying?”

Gintoki winced at that question, although he hadn’t had that dream in a while, it was still something he could vividly remember.

“I think Gintoki was screaming because someone drank all his strawberry milk again,” Katsura said, breaking the silence, no longer pulling the thread but facing Shouyou head on. “And I’m sure Takasugi was crying because no one would give him credit for buying everyone Yakult.”

Gintoki and Takasugi stared blankly at Katsura, unsure if Katsura’s ramblings held truth of their future or if he was making it up. Gintoki has yet to dream of strawberry milk or of Takasugi ever buying him Yakult but he bit his tongue and made a mental note to ask Katsura later.

“Oh? So Gintoki becomes a sugar addict in the future and Takasugi doesn’t get recognized for his good deeds?” Shouyou hummed and tapped the floorboards softly before laughing. “Well I’d love to see that happening.”

Gintoki broke out into a smile before jumping on Shouyou who quickly avoided the attack. Takasugi pushed himself off the wall and walked over to where his teacher was sitting, plopping down right next to him, tugging on his sleeve to tell him what he dreamt of today. Katsura got up, and brushed the imaginary dirt from his butt, smiling and taking a mental screenshot of the scene before him hoping that it’ll replace his dreams of bloody battlefields and dead comrades.

-

Gintoki doesn’t remember when the flashbacks - or were they premonitions - first started happening, although he does remember first meeting Shouyou in a field of corpses only to immediately agree to travel with him because of the immense warmth and yearning he felt upon their meeting. 

Later on, when Shouyou was making him his first bowl of ramen, Gintoki revealed this information to him. Shouyou laughed a little, and ran his hand through Gintoki’s natural perm. It must be fate, his teacher said, that gentle smile never fading.

When he spotted Takasugi from his high perch on top of a shrine, the name came to him in the form of a snarl, which Gintoki presumed was his own voice in the far distant future. He blinked slowly as he glanced at the black hair, the dull drawl of Takasugi’s voice causing him to cringe as intense pain swell within his torso. A multitude of images flashed before his eyes, most noticeably an older man in a purple yukata, bleeding profusely and the bandages across his face falling off. Gintoki forcefully made his way back to reality, his heart beating from the adrenaline and he cringed at the longing that remained from the previous images. This must be fate also, he thought as he regained composure and made his way to the other boy.

Remembering Katsura was easier and calmer for Gintoki. The brunette was sitting close to him, their shoulders occasionally touching as Katsura flipped the page in his book. His hair was out of his usual ponytail and Gintoki had to brush it away when it began to tickle his neck. On the eighth time that Katsura's hair touched his neck, Gintoki turned to tell him something but stopped at the sight of an older Katsura with longer hair but the same idiotic sleeping face. Gintoki sighed at the squeeze his heart made and carefully closed Katsura’s book. As he blinked back images of Katsura standing proud in front of a battle worn field, he flipped to the next page of his Jump, absentmindedly thinking that this too is fate. 

He never really thought of himself as special or unique but this weird phenomenon happening to him could be because of the amanto or because of his destiny to fulfill his role as the main character. Gintoki used to think that his dreams were just figments of his imagination, that the crazy fights and victories and losses were just his brain conjuring up wild scenarios. However when he dreamt that Takasugi would fall down a hill and break his arm due to his own idiocy and definitely not because of Gintoki pushing him and it happened the following week, without Gintoki even having to do anything, he began to think differently of it. 

Gintoki began to watch Katsura and Takasugi more carefully after he confirmed that something strange was indeed happening. Neither of them woke up in the middle of the night, panicked and afraid. They didn’t understand when he would throw out random phrases that should have meant something. They were completely oblivious to the little breakdown that Gintoki was having. He wouldn’t call it unfair, nor would he call himself lucky to be the only one that was affected. It was more of a loneliness that settled deep within him. 

Of course Shouyou noticed Gintoki’s peculiar actions even though Gintoki tried really really hard to avoid getting on his radar. Gintoki tried not to be alone with his surrogate father because he knew, one way or another, Shouyou would get him to confess everything. 

The young silver haired boy was getting ready to follow Katsura and Takasugi to the marketplace when he heard Shouyou call his name. Gintoki didn’t want to face Shouyou, not today, not after that dream he had, so he rushed out the back of their small temple. He sped past Katsura and Takasugi who asked what was wrong, he jumped over a tea seat that was placed on the floor, and he even ignored the newest Jump that was strategically placed before the exit. 

His heart was beating rapidly and he could feel sweat building up on the back of his neck. 

As soon as he reached the garden, he turned left to his secret spot that was hidden between a couple of bushes. He pushed through the branches, ignoring the sting of his cheek as a branch whipped him, and stopped. There lying where he usually sat was a bird, a tiny small dead bird. Gintoki stalled and stared at the lifeless form, his stomach churning at the still animal.

“Gintoki?” Shouyou asked, and branches being pushed aside could be heard. “What are you- oh. The poor thing. It probably tried to fly before it was ready.”

Gintoki blinked as Shouyou reached for the tiny creature, quickly grabbing his arm to stop him from picking it up.

“If you touch a baby bird then its parents will abandon it,” Gintoki said, repeating what he once heard a long time ago.

“Gintoki, it passed away, the parents won’t look-“

“No! Please, don’t touch it.” Gintoki released his grip on Shouyou’s arm and moved backwards out of the bushes. “How will it go back to its family?”

Shouyou hesitated at Gintoki’s question. It wasn’t like for him to say things like that, he knew of death and he knew that the parents of the dead bird wouldn’t be searching for their child.

“Where should we bury him?” He asked instead, gently picking up the bird, it’s body already cold and stiff. He got out of the bushes and faced Gintoki who was staring at the exit of the temple where Katsura and Takasugi where peeking from. 

“Let’s burry him underneath the sakura tree,” Gintoki said, turning away from the two students. “Can I dig the hole?”

“Of course.”

Shouyou watched as Gintoki walked to the tree and turned to his two other students. “Do you want to join us?”

Takasugi was the first to move, jogging over to Gintoki while Katsura slowly made his way over to Shouyou.

“It’s sad isn’t it?” Katsura mumbled, frowning at the bird, “It’s so sad that things die.”

Shouyou hummed in agreement, and patted Katsura’s head with his free hand. They both walked over to the tree where Gintoki and Takasugi were having a competition over who can dig the hole faster.

“Alright, I think that’s deep enough,” Shouyou said as a way to stop them from making even more of a mess. “Now be sure to wash your hands as soon as you get inside.”

Takasugi agreed amicably while Gintoki made a grunting sound. The three children were quiet as Shouyou bent down and carefully placed the bird on it side. He clasped his hands and did a silent prayer for the small animal. 

“Shouyou,” Gintoki started, watching Shouyou covered the hole back up, the dirt slowly covering the bird until it was completely hidden. “Do things have to die?”

Shouyou paused his actions, observing each of his students faces, all of them knowing that the question was a rather obvious one but oddly interested in whatever Shouyou’s answer will be.

“Yes of course.”

“Is there a way to stop death? Like if you knew that someone- er something is going to die and you know how to avoid it, is it possible?”

Gintoki flinched at Takasugi’s question, eyebrows furrowing at Takasugi’s suddenly serious demeanor, even Katsura who already lost his grandmother, or maybe because he lost his grandmother, looked forward to Shouyou’s next response.

“But if that person were to escape death the first time, then what about the second time? Wouldn’t it be a never-ending attempt to avoid death?”

Takasugi opened his mouth to retort, but quickly shut it, looking away and glaring at the tree behind Shouyou.

“I can’t imagine a life where one has to constantly be on the lookout for danger. Always on alert, never being able to relax, never being able to trust anyone…” Shouyou admitted. “That’s doesn’t seem like the life I would want to live.

Gintoki could feel himself deflate, as if he too was placing all his hope on Shouyou’s answer. Shouyou finished covering up the hole and placing a stick right side up as a grave marker, turning to face his three students, each of them looking at the makeshift grave with a somber expression.

“My dear students, dying is not the end,” Shouyou said, walking past the three of them and stared at the temple they called home. “If you are able to live beautifully, live with no regrets, and love with all that you have then I feel as if you lived a long accomplished life. If I were to die tomorrow, memories that I’ve created with you would fill my soul and bring me peace, it would make dying seem not bad at all.”

Shouyou turned around, a grand smile on his face which immediately turned to a panicky grimace.

“Why-Why are all of you crying? Was it something I said? Was this topic to heavy for a simple burial? What should I-”

“If you were to die tomorrow, I’d be very upset,” Gintoki muttered, quickly wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop falling.

“I would never forgive you,” Takasugi quickly followed, staring at the ground, letting his tears run free.

“Sensei, please don’t say that you’ll die,” Katsura blubbered out, crying openly. “We would be so sad if you were to die.”

Shouyou exhaled heavily and walked over to his precious children, bending down and grabbing them all in a big hug.

“Forgive me for saying that,” he softly murmured out, his forehead connected to Gintoki’s and his right and left hands rubbing soothing circles on Katsura’s and Takasugi’s back. “I don’t think I’d give into death that easily anyways, the days I’ve spent with you all has made me incredibly greedy. I want to create more and more memories until there’s no more room in my brain to contain them all.”

The four of them stayed huddled together while Shouyou’s knees passed the point of numb and the sniffles and sobs coming from the three children dramatically quieted. Shouyou didn’t stop his hands from rubbing soothing circles nor did he pull his forehead away from Gintoki’s. They simply stood underneath the sakura tree, a comfortable silence looming over them, unaware of the overcast that was quickly forming.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, this was not beta'd so any mistakes are all on me. Come talk to me on tumblr, zinniapetals, about Gintama or whatever pleases you ~


End file.
